Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine Summer 2017 Issue | Page 31

Business
By: Becky Sill, CIPA
Independent LegalShield Associate
www.beckysill.com
Identity Protection Framework Part III
IDENTITY THEFT SCHEMES
A fake driver’s license at one time was used to get into
bars and have a good time, but today a fake ID has
a whole new meaning. Awareness can go a long way
to protect you from some common ways that identity
thieves are getting and using our information.
Physical Theft – Physically taking someone’s
information. i.e. Stealing items from a home, office,
luggage, wallet, purse, etc. for fraudulent purposes.
Spam – Unwanted email you receive intended to
accomplish specific goals. i.e. clicking on a link to
download a program to access data on your computer
(see spyware). These emails should not be clicked on
and should be deleted as well as removed from the
trash folder.
Pretexting – Also called spoofing, impersonating,
masquerading or mimicking – A spam email sent to
appear as though it is from a trusted source, such as
someone you do business with, so they can extract the
desired information for committing fraud.
Phishing - Emails that are sent “fishing” for information.
These appear to be from legitimate companies
or people requesting personal information while
sometimes using scare tactics such as “click this link to
verify your information or your account will be frozen”.
The IRS, banking institutions, etc. will NEVER ask for this
type of information through an email. If you question
the validity of an email, call the trusted company
directly using a known phone number to verify before
sending any information.
Another phishing scheme alive and well is posing as a
corporate figure, such as the CEO, requesting personal
information for all employees. If an email has a request
that does not match up with day to day operations, be sure
to initiate verbal contact with the sender to validate the
request.
Skimming – Card skimmers are devices that are used to
pull data off a credit or debit card and used to produce
counterfeit cards. These may be found at an ATM, gas
station pump or other point of sale device. Skimmers
can be portable and used to skim credit card information
in public areas. For a FREE credit card sleeve with RFID
blocking technology, please contact me.
Shoulder Surfing – A casual fraud scheme where someone
is looking over your shoulder to access data such as a pin
number, driver’s license or credit card information. Be
alert! Cover the key pad when entering your pin number.
With phone cameras, it makes this form of identity theft
very easy with an unsuspecting victim.
Piggybacking – An illegal act of following someone into a
restricted area without authorization. Be aware if you have
security clearance to keep the area secure.
Spyware (key loggers) – Software that can be downloaded
to a computer, from one of these other schemes, to
log keystrokes and take screen shots of confidential
information.
Don’t live in fear. Be aware. Take precautions. Mitigate your
risks and enjoy your summer!
Source: Identity Management Institute
MOMENTUM / Summer 2017
31